Qualcomm Audio Consumer Insights Report Shows Rising Popularity of Wireless Headphones and Wireless Speakers

Qualcomm has released its annual The State of Play 2018 report, with valuable insights on the fast-moving world of personal and home audio technology - including expectations and product purchase drivers for American, British and Chinese consumers. The new report shows, for the second year in a row, that sound quality is by far the highest ranked buying consideration when choosing wireless headphones or speakers. More than half of participants surveyed (53%) said they are planning to purchase completely wire-free earbuds.

YEVO Labs, the Stockholm-based innovation lab born from the creators of Happy Plugs, announced the availability of its second-generation true wireless headphones, YEVO Air. The new generation combines design, performance and advanced technology for superior sound quality and reliable Bluetooth 4.2 connection in the brand’s signature contemporary design. Like its predecessor YEVO 1, YEVO Air allows listeners to experience total freedom of movement without any wires and is available now for $129.00 worldwide.

Mimi Hearing Technologies announced Mimi Defined, the latest generation of sound optimization technology from the Berlin company, which for now will be used in devices from Bragi, the true wireless intelligent earphone manufacturer and hearables pioneer. With this collaboration, Bragi Dash Pro users can create a personal hearing profile and customize sound to their individual needs, which is stored and activated directly on the devices.

Qualcomm announced the QCC3026, a flash-programmable Bluetooth Audio System-on-Chip (SoC) that is designed to reduce power consumption by up to 50% compared to previous generation entry-level flash devices. The new SoC is also engineered to help manufacturers simply and quickly develop and commercialize feature optimized truly wireless headsets, and extends the Company’s portfolio of low power Bluetooth audio solutions following the announcement of the flagship QCC5100 Bluetooth SoC series earlier this year.

In its latest assessment of the headphones landscape, market research firm Futuresource points out that the true wireless segment has grown 178% year-on-year, with Apple achieving a whopping 80% market share. On a worldwide basis, the overall headphones market totaled 79.1 million units in Q1, with retail revenues topping $4 billion.

Munich-based Bragi is known for making truly wireless earphones, which are in fact the first truly smart hearables. Its first product, The Dash, won the CES 2015 Innovation Award Best of Innovation in the Headphones product category. When the idea of truly wireless stereo earbuds was still an idea, Bragi was working hard to enter the space, but their vision was going much further: truly wearables. As Nikolaj Hviid, Founder and CEO, Bragi GmbH puts it, "The purpose of wearables is to increase the data rate from the human to the machine."